Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska, Poland's ambassador to Japan, says she was utterly heartbroken when she witnessed the catastrophe caused by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Tohoku last March.
"I couldn't stand being witness to this tragedy. I felt at the time (I was) not only a Polish citizen and ambassador, but kind of being a part of (the) Japanese nation," said the ambassador and scholar, who has been a diplomat in Japan for a total of 12 years.
Rodowicz-Czechowska — who has spent more than three decades studying Japanese culture — holds a doctorate in the classical noh form of Japanese drama. Her studies specialized in noh actors' training and Zeami Motokiyo — the noh playwright and actor who cofounded the art as it is known today with his father, Kannami Kiyotsugu, in the 14th century. Rodowicz-Czechowska read Zeami's work in an English translation, and said she was amazed "by the beauty and the depth, and the philosophy of acting — by the very high moral and aesthetical standards of the actors."